Speaking of summer camps: The Blend recently got a tip about this wonderful LGBT camp, also in Maine– looks like a great place to have a vacation! 🙂

Check out these past published reviews for more info…

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Not only is Maine known as “Vacationland”, it is also home of many, MANY summer camps for kids. They arrive by the bus loads and get to spend a week, 2 weeks, a month or even the entire summer enjoying the terrific environment here. It’s a pretty cool place for a kid to come, with lots of fun and a huge variety of activities.

But there are few “happy campers” here in Maine this year:

According to Dr. Dora Anne Mills of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 30 of Maine’s summer camps, primarily in the southern half of the state, have been hit by the virus, which often targets children and young adults.

The annual influx of kids from urban areas – including Boston and New York City where the virus is especially widespread – is expected to bring many more cases into Maine in coming weeks. In the close confines of camp sleeping cabins, shared bathrooms, dining halls, recreation centers and other indoor gathering areas, H1N1 will find ideal conditions to replicate and spread.

As of July 10, the Maine CDC had confirmed 203 cases of H1N1 – 114 in year-round residents and 89 in visitors from out of state.

Of the latter group, Mills said, most are youngsters attending Maine’s approximately 200 summer camps. But in addition to the number of laboratory-confirmed cases, Mills said there are at least 10 times as many “probable” cases and possibly many more than that.

At this, the height of Maine’s summer season, she said, anyone suffering from a cluster of wintry flu symptoms – including fever, sore throat, cough, fatigue and general malaise – should be presumed to have swine flu.

It’s a big enough concern that Maine is preparing for a possible major H1N1 vaccination program in the schools, starting this fall. The Governor and others will be meeting next month to look over the information and decide if or what course of action to take.

But in the meanwhile, it seems that H1N1 can replace “malaria” in this ageless summer camp classic: